The Gonzaga University Urban Arts Center is showing collections of fine art made by college students this month for their Regional Student Invitational.

The exhibit, which kicked off on Feb. 2, features student work from Gonzaga University, Spokane Falls Community College, North Idaho College, Whitworth University, and Eastern Washington University. 

Lily Henderson, a Bachelor of Fine Arts student at Eastern Washington University, designed one of her pieces titled “Roadkill” after a particularly interesting encounter on the way to the university.

“I created it after I saw [the raccoon] in Cheney on the way to school,” Henderson said. “We saw him in the road with the lines painted down him, and the truck still painting a couple hundred feet down.”

Henderson’s photograph that accompanied the exhibit was taken of the miniature diorama version next to it. 

“I make clay dolls and photograph them,” Henderson said. “What you see in the photos are 1:12 scale miniatures. It takes about 8 hours to create these pieces.”

Another Eastern Washington University photographer featured was Katherine Kneafsey, who displayed a series of three black and white photographs titled “Angel?”, “Intrigue” and “Bent”.

“I took these photos about a year ago,” Kneafsey said. “I was really into portraits and trying to capture the abstraction of the body. Everyone’s interpretation is different.”

Also from EWU, Carly Ellis displayed oil paintings with a significant meaning for her that wouldn’t immediately be apparent.

“My uncle was an artist, and after I lost him I went up to the mountain where he lived,” Ellis said of her painting “Looking Towards the Light.” “This is a self-portrait and I really wanted to represent what it felt like going there.”

Perennial ‘Renn’ Francis, a BFA student at EWU, also has a rich history behind the art they displayed. They displayed numerous pieces with shocking words on them, but the content of their pieces were much more meaningful than the words themselves.

Two of their pieces, “Ripe for the Picking” and “Service: Saccharine, Nonfat, and Biting” were reclamations of abuse they received throughout their life.

“The writing on my pieces are things that were said to me and stuck with me. Much of it stems from religious trauma,” Francis said. “Instead of blocking it out, I put it in my art.”

Francis picked up and displayed one of the bowls from the “Service: Saccharine, Nonfat, and Biting” display, and showed that around the bowl it said “Jesus hates you” and on the bottom it said “this I know.”

“I call these my trauma-bowls,” Francis said of the piece. “I keep notes of the things that deeply affect me and am able to translate them to art.”

Jeanne Marshall, a B.A. student at EWU, says the pottery piece they displayed developed over time. 

“It didn’t end up like it was supposed to but it evolved,” Marshall said. “I started with just the head of the boar, and then just kept going.”

The boar created has a distinct shiny glaze lightly over the body and more heavily applied over the base. “I used a copper glaze on the piece that had manganese in it. It’s poisonous to people but it looks so cool,” Marshall said.

All of the students with artwork displayed in the exhibit applied to be featured. 

“I applied to be in the gallery after Josh Hobson recommended it to me,” Marshall said. “I’m glad he told me about it, it’s a cool experience.”

The exhibit can be found at the Gonzaga University Urban Arts Center located at 125 S Stevens St. in Spokane on the 3rd Floor. The gallery is open to the public on Fridays from 4 to 7 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. until March 1.

The closing reception for the gallery will be held on March 1 from 4 to 7 p.m.